As commander of the army, General Miles is not different from the Miles
of thirty years ago. Those who knew him then say that he has changed
very little in appearance, and not at all in his devotion to duty and
to the army. He was always above petty jealousy, and never withheld
from a subordinate the credit due to him,—and this is a prominent trait
in Miles to-day. The public wondered that Miles showed no impatience
when he was not sent in command of the troops to Cuba, but those who
knew the General felt that he was too firm a believer in discipline
to object to any lawful act of his commander-in-chief. Miles is known
to have been anxious to lead the fighting in the only war likely to
offer him an opportunity to prove his ability as a general in command,
but he obeyed without a murmur the orders which placed in other hands
the leadership of the troops in the field. He maintained a vigilant
supervision of all that was going on, and was especially watchful of
the supplies which had been intended for the support of the army at
the front. His criticism of those supplies has caused a widespread
sensation and there were earnest demands that all the facts should be
known, and the responsibility fixed.